editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94David Edelstein is a film critic for New York magazine and for NPR's Fresh Air, and an occasional commentator on film for CBS Sunday Morning. He has also written film criticism for the Village Voice, The New York Post, and Rolling Stone, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times' Arts & Leisure section.A member of the National Society of Film Critics, he is the author of the play Blaming Mom, and the co-author of Shooting to Kill (with producer Christine Vachon).NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94David EdelsteinSat, 12 Nov 2016 08:36:50 +0000David Edelsteinhttp://iowapublicradio.org
David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Film critic David Edelstein has a review of the new sci-fi drama "Arrival" starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, co-star. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: Have you ever thought about the idea that in American space-alien-invasion movies, extraterrestrials have no problem mastering the King's English? Well, "Arrival" is different. Communication between earthlings and aliens doesn't happen at the start. It's the source of the suspense, what the movie builds to, because you can't know what ETs want if you can't ask and they can't answer. Are they here to exterminate us? To save us? Who can interpret their weird burbles? A linguist maybe. Her name is Dr. Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams. The aliens have arrived in vessels that look like titanic, mile-high wedges, which hover in seemingly random spots all over the planet. No one knows their intentions. Out of nowhere, Forest WhitakerSci-Fi Saga 'Arrival' Asks: Can Humans Learn To Speak The Language Of Aliens?http://iowapublicradio.org/post/sci-fi-saga-arrival-asks-can-humans-learn-speak-language-aliens
82359 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 11 Nov 2016 18:45:00 +0000Sci-Fi Saga 'Arrival' Asks: Can Humans Learn To Speak The Language Of Aliens?David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Mel Gibson has directed a new movie called "Hacksaw Ridge." He won an Oscar for the second feature he directed, the 1995 Scottish war epic "Braveheart." And he went on to make two more brutal films, "The Passion Of The Christ" and "Apocalypto." "Hacksaw Ridge" is also graphically violent, set on the battlefield during World War II. But the hero, played by Andrew Garfield, is a pacifist. Film critic David Edelstein has a review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: In "Hacksaw Ridge," Mel Gibson has found a great subject for his peculiar gifts, a story of extreme religious faith amid extreme violence. It's based on the life of Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor for lives he saved as a medic during the May 1945 battle for Okinawa. Unusual for a CO, Doss had no problem serving. He longed to serve. The problem was that as a Seventh Day Adventist, he refused toMel Gibson Pours Fever And Passion Into Every Frame Of 'Hacksaw Ridge' http://iowapublicradio.org/post/mel-gibson-pours-fever-and-passion-every-frame-hacksaw-ridge
82012 as http://iowapublicradio.orgThu, 03 Nov 2016 17:44:00 +0000Mel Gibson Pours Fever And Passion Into Every Frame Of 'Hacksaw Ridge' David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Film critic David Edelstein has a review of "The Handmaiden" by Korean director Park Chan-wook. It's a major reworking of the Victorian-era erotic thriller "Fingersmith" by Welsh-born novelist Sarah Waters. The BBC adapted the novel into a miniseries in 2005. Here's David. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: The Korean Park Chan-wook would be the last director I'd have figured could make a lush, romantic melodrama like "The Handmaiden," which he adapted from the well-known British novel "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters. Park is the auteur behind some critically lauded and exceedingly cruel quasi-horror films. Among them, "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy," "Lady Vengeance" and the English language "Stoker." I was one of those critics who lauded the first three, but I got tired of the director's reflexive nihilism and his reliance on empty shocks. He started to remind me of lesser punk rockers. But theLush And Romantic 'Handmaiden' Is The Year's Most Irresistible Love Storyhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/lush-and-romantic-handmaiden-years-most-irresistible-love-story
81760 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 28 Oct 2016 17:43:00 +0000Lush And Romantic 'Handmaiden' Is The Year's Most Irresistible Love StoryDavid EdelsteinTower is an animated documentary that tells the story of a massacre that happened 50 years ago and was a historic first: A man with no record of violence shot at people at random for no logical reason.It was Aug. 1, 1966, in the middle of a 100-degree day at the University of Texas at Austin. The shots came from the clock tower at the center of the campus. A woman eight months pregnant was the first to fall, soon to be followed by her boyfriend and a boy delivering newspapers on his bicycle. It's not the usual subject for a cartoon.The animation is rotoscoped, meaning laid over real actors who went through the paces. Those actors also narrate, their words taken directly from transcripts or interviews with the real people conducted by the director, Keith Maitland.Sometimes Maitland cuts to actual footage from that day. Sometimes he puts animated figures in the foreground against grainy, black-and-white news coverage.The effect is extraordinary. Rather than distancing us, the animationDocumentary Offers A Wrenching Look At America's First Modern Gun Massacre http://iowapublicradio.org/post/documentary-offers-wrenching-look-americas-first-modern-gun-massacre
81177 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 14 Oct 2016 17:37:00 +0000Documentary Offers A Wrenching Look At America's First Modern Gun Massacre David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Nate Parkers "The Birth Of A Nation" opens today. It had a triumphant world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. But in the intervening months, questions about the director's past have upstaged the film itself. This retelling of the slave rebellion by the black preacher Nat Turner stars Parker as Nat Turner and Armie Hammer as his master, Samuel Turner. Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: In "The Birth Of A Nation," writer-director Nate Parker tells the story of Nat Turner, the slave who believed himself to be a prophet and, in 1831, led a brutal revolt in Virginia. But the title tells you something else. Parker is taking on D.W. Griffith's epic, which portrayed the post-Civil War South as overrun with ex-slaves who threatened both the social order and the virtue of white women. That movie was the most influential argument for vigilantism made in'Birth Of A Nation' Conforms To Hollywood's Standard Revenge Templatehttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/birth-nation-conforms-hollywoods-standard-revenge-template
80906 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 07 Oct 2016 17:41:00 +0000'Birth Of A Nation' Conforms To Hollywood's Standard Revenge TemplateDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.'American Honey' Trains Its Lens On Traveling Magazine Crewshttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/american-honey-trains-its-lens-traveling-magazine-crews
80724 as http://iowapublicradio.orgMon, 03 Oct 2016 16:19:00 +0000'American Honey' Trains Its Lens On Traveling Magazine CrewsDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. The "Magnificent Seven" is the remake of a 1960 Western that was based on the Japanese epic "Seven Samurai." The new film is directed by Antoine Fuqua, best known for "Training Day" and "The Equalizer," both of which starred his leading actor here, Denzel Washington. The cast also includes Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke. Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: Antione Fuqua's remake of the 1960 western "The Magnificent Seven" was chosen to open the Toronto International Film Festival, and it looks and sounds like a classic horse opera. As someone who grew up on Westerns, I loved the familiar elements, hearing the sound of wind blowing through a deserted town and boots echoing on a wooden porch and someone calling a bad guy a yellow-bellied sap-sucking coward. I loved the sight of a long, lean gunfighter hero in black, in this case, played by Denzel Washington. I likeIt's Hard to Tell Who's Shooting Whom In 'The Magnificent Seven' http://iowapublicradio.org/post/its-hard-tell-whos-shooting-whom-magnificent-seven
80401 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 23 Sep 2016 19:47:00 +0000It's Hard to Tell Who's Shooting Whom In 'The Magnificent Seven' David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. The release of Oliver Stone's new film "Snowden" coincides with a campaign by human rights groups for a presidential pardon of Edward Snowden. Yesterday, all the members of the House intelligence committee signed a letter to President Obama asking him not to pardon the exiled former NSA contractor who stole classified documents and exposed a widespread secret surveillance program. Oliver Stone sees Snowden as a hero. Many people see him as a traitor. In Stone's biopic, Snowden is portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: Oliver Stone, the director of the new film "Snowden," regards Edward Snowden as a heroic whistleblower. For him, it's not even a close call. The Snowden he presents is the same man we saw in Laura Poitras' Oscar-winning documentary "Citizenfour," the patriot who couldn't abide his government's malpractice andOliver Stone Puts A Melodramatic Spin On 'Snowden' And The Surveillance Statehttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/oliver-stone-puts-melodramatic-spin-snowden-and-surveillance-state
80117 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 16 Sep 2016 17:53:00 +0000Oliver Stone Puts A Melodramatic Spin On 'Snowden' And The Surveillance StateDavid EdelsteinYou have to sympathize with the makers of Sully, director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Todd Komarnicki. The focus of their story is Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's aborted Jan. 15, 2009, flight, which lasted only 208 seconds. He flew out of New York's LaGuardia, hit a flock of geese, and made an unprecedented landing on the Hudson River, saving all 155 passengers and crew members.There was more, of course. He and the flight attendants had to help get frightened passengers onto the wings, and the Coast Guard had to pick people up before they froze. But still: How do you get a suspenseful 90-plus minute feature out of a few minutes of action?On the basis of the movie Sully, you manufacture a crisis out of a minor footnote. You turn the story of a man whose heroism was trumpeted by everyone on the planet into a story of government persecution.The movie begins the morning after the event: Sully — played by Tom Hanks — is having a nightmare in which he crashes the plane. But hisAn Unforgettable 208-Second Flight Creates A Bureaucratic Frenzy In 'Sully' http://iowapublicradio.org/post/unforgettable-208-second-flight-creates-bureaucratic-frenzy-sully
79818 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 09 Sep 2016 17:27:00 +0000An Unforgettable 208-Second Flight Creates A Bureaucratic Frenzy In 'Sully' David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in Chicago back in 1989 is the subject of a new movie called "Southside With You." Film critic David Edelstein has a review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: "Southside With You" is a dramatization of Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in 1989, which Obama wrote about briefly in his second book and has already become a piece of American folklore. He just finished his first year at Harvard Law School and was a summer associate at a Chicago corporate law firm. Michelle Robinson was a second-year associate, a practicing attorney and his advisor. He says she was reluctant to go on an official date with him. But he asked her out so much, he wore her down. It's weird to see a biopic where the subjects aren't just still alive but still in the White House, where everything they say and do is freighted with politics. "Southside With You" plays as if the young writerWhen Barack Met Michelle: 'Southside With You' Recreates The Obamas' First Datehttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/when-barack-met-michelle-southside-you-recreates-obamas-first-date
79276 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 20:12:00 +0000When Barack Met Michelle: 'Southside With You' Recreates The Obamas' First DateDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.DAVE DAVIES, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. The crime film "Hell Or High Water" centers on two masked robbers who clean out small branches of the same bank all over West Texas while a ranger tries to predict which one they'll hit next. Jeff Bridges plays the ranger. And Chris Pine and Ben Foster are the robbers, brothers on a mission to save the family property from foreclosure. Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: "Hell Or High Water" is one of the most haunting neo-Westerns I've ever seen. There are cowboys and Indians and cattle drives and bank robberies and Texas rangers. And the movie builds to a macho faceoff. But the time is the present. And the West - here West Texas - is a different place. The frontier that gave birth to symbols of rugged individualism is now a home for the collectively dispossessed. And that macho faceoff is downright mournful. In most Westerns, violence seems the only possibleRobbers And Rangers Collide In 'Hell Or High Water'http://iowapublicradio.org/post/robbers-and-rangers-collide-hell-or-high-water
78636 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 12 Aug 2016 17:15:00 +0000Robbers And Rangers Collide In 'Hell Or High Water'David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. In director Ira Sachs' new film "Little Men," two adolescent boys become increasingly close while their parents grow further and further apart, engaging in a bitter struggle over the lease to a Brooklyn dress shop. The film premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It features Greg Kinnear and Chilean star Paulina Garcia. Film critic David Edelstein has this review. DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: In his two most recent films, director Ira Sachs has found a brilliant prism for posing the question - how responsible should we be for our fellow humans? That prism is the New York real estate market. Consider his 2014 film, "Love Is Strange," which centers on an older same-sex couple, an artist and a Catholic school music teacher played by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina who can finally be legally married in New York, but can't afford to keep their apartment when the teacher gets fired by the'Little Men' Combines Stark Economic Realities With Hope For A Better Futurehttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/little-men-combines-stark-economic-realities-hope-better-future
78318 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 05 Aug 2016 17:46:00 +0000'Little Men' Combines Stark Economic Realities With Hope For A Better FutureDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Our film critic David Edelstein has a review of the new movie, "Jason Bourne." The character was created by Robert Ludlum who wrote a series of "Bourne" novels. Bourne is a CIA assassin who goes rogue after losing and regaining his memory in the first book of the series, "The Bourne Identity." Matt Damon played Bourne in the hit film adaptation and went on to make two sequels, "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" with director Paul Greengrass. Now nine years after "Ultimatum," Damon and Greengrass have returned with "Jason Bourne." DAVID EDELSTEIN, BYLINE: The fascinating thing about the new "Bourne" movie, "Jason Bourne," is how it makes the evolutionary case for multitasking. See, it's not enough that Bourne, the CIA pariah played by Matt Damon, can box, Kung Fu fight and drive at high speeds on the wrong side of the road. To keep from being killed, he also must hold in his brain'Jason Bourne' Returns, In A Dizzying And Frenetic Thriller http://iowapublicradio.org/post/jason-bourne-returns-dizzying-and-frenetic-thriller
78008 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 29 Jul 2016 17:51:00 +0000'Jason Bourne' Returns, In A Dizzying And Frenetic Thriller David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.'Star Trek Beyond' Is An Unapologetically Wild Ride, Steeped In Human Dramahttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/star-trek-beyond-unapologetically-wild-ride-steeped-human-drama
77657 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 22 Jul 2016 18:02:00 +0000'Star Trek Beyond' Is An Unapologetically Wild Ride, Steeped In Human DramaDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.Despite Its Charm, 'Ghostbusters' Remake Comes Up Short On Laughshttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/despite-its-charm-ghostbusters-remake-comes-short-laughs
77317 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 15 Jul 2016 19:41:00 +0000Despite Its Charm, 'Ghostbusters' Remake Comes Up Short On LaughsDavid EdelsteinI have some reservations about the documentary Life, Animated, but they can't undermine how moved I was watching its subject, Owen Suskind, who has autism, figure out how to navigate the world using Disney cartoons as a reference point.Here's the scenario laid out by the movie, which is directed by Roger Ross Williams from a book by journalist Ron Suskind. When Owen, Suskind and his wife Cornelia's second son, was born, he seemed "normal" until age 3, when, as Suskind puts it, he "vanished." His motor skills deteriorated. He lost what language he'd attained. Austism was diagnosed. "Someone kidnapped our son," Suskind says.The young Owen is seen in videos as well as original animated scenes by the French visual effects company Mac Guff. But much of Life, Animated follows the Suskind family today. Owen is 23 and in the process of graduating from a special school in Cape Cod. He'll be moving into his own apartment in an assisted-living facility. He has a girlfriend. He's still watchingA Boy With Autism Makes Connections Through Cartoons In 'Life, Animated'http://iowapublicradio.org/post/boy-autism-makes-connections-through-cartoons-life-animated
76966 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 08 Jul 2016 18:13:00 +0000A Boy With Autism Makes Connections Through Cartoons In 'Life, Animated'David EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.'BFG' Is A 'Delumptious' Pairing Of A Happy Child And A Radiant Old Soulhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/bfg-delumptious-pairing-happy-child-and-radiant-old-soul
76690 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 01 Jul 2016 17:40:00 +0000'BFG' Is A 'Delumptious' Pairing Of A Happy Child And A Radiant Old SoulDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.A 'Wiener-Dog' Sows The Seeds Of Tragedy In New Filmhttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/wiener-dog-sows-seeds-tragedy-new-film
76466 as http://iowapublicradio.orgMon, 27 Jun 2016 17:26:00 +0000A 'Wiener-Dog' Sows The Seeds Of Tragedy In New FilmDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.'Finding Dory' Makes A Big Splash, With Slapstick Humor And Witty Dialoghttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/finding-dory-makes-big-splash-slapstick-humor-and-witty-dialog
76049 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 17 Jun 2016 18:31:00 +0000'Finding Dory' Makes A Big Splash, With Slapstick Humor And Witty DialogDavid EdelsteinCopyright 2016 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.'Genius' Offers A High-Toned Look At The Editor-Writer Relationshiphttp://iowapublicradio.org/post/genius-offers-high-toned-look-editor-writer-relationship
75728 as http://iowapublicradio.orgFri, 10 Jun 2016 17:26:00 +0000'Genius' Offers A High-Toned Look At The Editor-Writer Relationship